Classicism

Art and Architecture with Dr. McFarland is this: Look at the building/painting. What era is it from? What was important to people in this time? What was the artist trying to say? Is the artist important, or the patron? Where did its ideas come from? and so forth. I've been doing all right, although sometimes I bemoan my long lost ability to look at a building and think, "PRETTY!". Now all I can think is, "Wow, they really botched the neo-classic in this. It looks much more historicist." and other such boring things. Which makes me sound too big for my britches.

First we have the Pergamon, a greek temple. Its ruins were found, dug up by Turkish workers, then shipped to this museum in Berlin built especially to hold it - the Pergamon Museum. See, you're standing in the middle looking at all the outside walls. They're facing in instead of out. 

Greek architecture was all about human proportions. They believed man to be the greatest creation and everything, from their government to their gods to their buildings, reflects that. The fresco on this building shows all the gods in a great battle against giants. 

For all Greece's greatness, they never got past post and lentil columns, technologically. What they did do is figure out how to curve columns out to make them look straight from a distance.

So this is the original Market Gate from Rome. It was excavated and moved to this museum in Berlin. Rome really admired Greek columns, and worked them into their architecture a lot. What they added was the arch that could support weight by using a center keystone.

Then Rome conquered Europe, and brought its technology with it. This medieval church in Eisenach shows 'romanesque' arches in the windows, for example.

This is Wartburg Castle, where Luther translated the New Testament while being hidden by the Prince Elector of Thuringia. The huge section on the left is original romanesque, while the other parts are later additions.

These Wartburg arches are exactly the same proportions as the ones in the Market Gate.

This column supporting the massive ceiling beams is completely original - from the 1100's.

The romanesque building style reigned throughout the Dark Ages, when hardly any technological advancement in any field was made.


Up next: Gothic.

the Marienkirche shows the progression from
romanesque to gothic from top to bottom